“Well, that’s perfect. Now what will do? There’s no way we’re not waiting in line for at least five hours if we try to go to the mall Santa now.” Frederick’s eyes get misty, and Webster wraps him in a tight hug. “I just wanted a cute way to tell our friends that we finally got it right, you know?”
“Shh, shh. I know, honey. It’s okay. We’ll make it work.”
The four of us, plus Lincoln, walk past all the booths of winter vegetables and Christmas crafts to the exit of the farmer’s market, Kris Kringle’s rejection weighing heavily on our shoulders. Christmas carols play over the tinny speakers, but I’m not in the mood for holiday cheer right now. I don’t care that much about getting a picture of Lincoln and Santa, not after my son’s epic freak out, but Webster and Frederick seem pretty bummed about not being able to see him. It sucks that we’re the reason they won’t get the Santa photo they wanted for their announcement.
It should have been simple enough to get Santa Claus to hold Lincoln. We could have taken a few pictures and been on our way. And it would have been, if Lincoln hadn’t screamed his little head off the second good old Kris got ahold of him. Poor Lincoln. Poor Kris.
“What are you guys doing tomorrow?” Archer stops outside the main doors, pulling Webster and Frederick aside. “Can you wait one more day to get your picture? I think I have an idea.”
Chapter 26
Santa Saves Christmas
Archer
“WecangetLincoln’sfirst Santa picture tomorrow, too. If you want to try again, that is.”
Phoebe chuckles at my offer. “I don’t know if we should. It’s been twenty minutes, and he’s only now settling down.”
“Well, I’m not a first-timer, so hopefully I can handle it better than our buddy Kris back there.”
After bursting Kris Kringle’s eardrums and ruining his first day on the job, we walked out of the farmer’s market with plans in place for Webster and Frederick to come to Phoebe’s house tomorrow for an impromptu Santa photo shoot. Phoebe and I stayed to walk around downtown for a little while to take in the various storefronts’ holiday displays, while the guys left to continue celebrating. They said they were meeting up with some members from the singles group where they first met. But I’m glad Webster and Frederick have each other now. I know too well what it’s like when you’re forced to conform to your parents’ unrealistic expectations.
Not to mention, there’s no way Phoebe would ever consider me if Webster was still an option for her. The guy is pretty much perfect.
“That’s true. That poor man. Do you think he ever came back out? There were so many people waiting in line. I hope Lincoln’s little crying jag didn’t scare him off the Kris Kringle act for good.”
“Tough to say. I didn’t notice any other babies in the line, though, so maybe he did.”
“I hope so. I’d hate to think Lincoln’s crying scared him away for good. Maybe Lincoln isn’t made for Santa visits? I’m not sure we should attempt pictures tomorrow.”
“Well, if you change your mind, let me know. We’ll have everything we need for it.”
“That sounds good.”
The streets are busy with people out doing their last-minute shopping. Phoebe and I each hold one of Lincoln’s stroller handles, both to keep him close and, at least for me, to keep us from getting separated. The forced proximity is nice, even if Phoebe’s nearness threatens to overwhelm me.
“So…yeah. I understand now why you knew Webster wasn’t even in the running for Lincoln’s father.” I scrub a hand over the back of my neck. “I know you two were joking around, but you know you had nothing to do with him being gay, right? Please tell me you’re not hanging on to some old-fashioned, misguided notion it was something you could have caused. Or that it’s something that needs to be blamed on anyone, for that matter.”
She chuckles. “Well, the few times we tried to do anything beyond kissing were a blow to the self-esteem, I won’t lie. He’d seriously freak out every time he tried to touch my breasts. I should have guessed it was more than wanting to wait until after we were married. It was easy to convince myself that’s all it was, though. Because he’s never been afraid to vocalize his appreciation for my body, as you heard earlier.”
“He freaked out?” I’m cringing so hard it hurts. How could he freak out from touching her breasts? “That’s…wow. That’s horrible. I’m so sorry that happened. But that has nothing to do with you. From what I recall from our night together, which isn’t much, by the way, your…uh, your breasts were quite nice.” Spectacular, actually. But that might take this conversation too far for Phoebe’s comfort.
She barks a laugh. “Thanks. I don’t remember much either, but I do recall feeling somewhat vindicated that someone as attractive as you are was interested in me. Even if it was only for one night.” She takes a deep breath and continues. “When he came out to me, it made prefect sense. I’m only sorry he felt he had to go to such lengths to hide himself. And it took him many a long phone conversation for him to convince me that I’m not the worst friend on earth for not immediately turning him down when he proposed.”
“Whydidyou say yes?”
She shrugs. “He’s my best friend. I couldn’t think of anything more comfortable than marrying my best friend. Of course, that was before I spent the night with you and realized what I’d be giving up.”
Now’s your chance, stupid. Tell her you’d like to get to know her better. Tell her you’d like to date her for real.“Listen, Phoebe. I was thinking maybe—”
“It was nice of you to offer to help Webster and Frederick,” she cuts me off without looking away from the window display. “I suppose it makes sense, since we ruined their photo op, after all.”
I chuckle ruefully at her abrupt change of subject. Point taken. Now’s not the time to ask her out. Maybe I’ll try again later.
“Who knew Lincoln had such a set of pipes on him? Poor woodland Kris Kringle will probably have a ringing in his ears for the rest of the day.”
“Not exactly a promising start to his first day of playing the character.” She laughs. “Is it just me or did it seem to you they were playing up the Lord of Rings style of elves with their costumes and props? That looked more like Rivendell than the North Pole to me.”
